Capitol Quotes: April 6, 2012

“At that point, it became to his tactical advantage to make an accusation in order to make it seem like any pending firing would be retaliation.” — Attorney General Tom Horne, on Don Dybus’ acknowledgement that two of Horne’s top employees were trying to get him fired.

“I would say the same about him. He’s a great guy, but his record is too extreme.” — Rep. Ted Vogt, R-Tucson, responding to his likely opponent for re-election in the new LD10, Democratic Rep. Bruce Wheeler.

“Secrecy does not promote compliance. This bill provides a shield for bad actors and eliminates the public’s watchdog role relative to both the polluters and the agencies.” — Sandy Bahr, director of the Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, complaining against a proposal to allow companies to self-audit and keep information to themselves if they discover cases of environmental contamination.

“It’s not dead yet — but it’s on life support.” — House Majority Leader Steve Court, R-Mesa, on the prospect of making lobbying and disclosure reforms in the wake of last year’s Fiesta Bowl scandal.

“You know what precedent would be bad? If (Patterson) comes in here and shoots somebody.” — House Minority Leader Chad Campbell, responding to GOP lawmakers’ notion that expelling Rep. Daniel Patterson from the House without an ethics hearing would set a bad precedent.

“Those guys didn’t matter to me. They were almost like clown characters to me.” — Assistant AG Don Dybus, on Rick Bistrow, Horne’s chief deputy, and James Keppel, the recently resigned chief of the AG’s criminal division, whom Dybus claims were trying to get him fired.